Portable refrigerator



y 3, 1951 P. HERTZBERG PORTABLE REFRIGERATOR Filed Sept. 23, 1949 FIG; 4'

YINVENTOR. PHIL-i? HERTZBERG ATTQRNEY.

Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PORTABLE REFRIGERATOR 'Philip Hertzberg, Cleveland, Ohio Application September 23, 1949, Serial No. 117,345

2 Claims.

This invention relates, as indicated, to portable refrigerators.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a portable refrigerator, which is of simple but Sturdy construction, and extremely light in weight, enabling it to be easily carried about, with a minimum of physical fatigue.

Another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator of the type described, in which the refrigerating efiiciency is considerably increased, through the use of what may be described as a solid ice wall.

A further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator of the character described, in which a novel form and construction of gasket is used for effectively sealing both the ice compartment and the compartment for the articles to be refrigerated.

A still. further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator of the type described, in which certain parts are made easily removable for replacement purposes.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the refrigerator, with portions broken away to better illustrate certain constructional features.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the refrigerator, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. I;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, taken on'the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of the upper left :hand portion of Fig. '1, :showing the embedment of certain parts in the rubber gasket.

Referring more particularlyto the drawings, the refrigerator is seen to comprise an outer wall formed from a single sheet of aluminum, bent to provide a front wall "I, a rear wall 2, and side walls 3 and 4, the seam 5 at the junction between Walls 2 and 4 being welded to form a closed, 'airtight joint.

Secured within the lower end of the space defined by the walls I, 2, 3 and 4, is a bottom 6, in the form of an inverted pan, also formed of sheet aluminum, the flanges l and 8 of which are in contact with the walls I, 2, 3 and 4 and are spot welded to the latter.

Secured within the pan-like bottom 6 is a channel-shaped insulation-confining member 9, which extends between the flanges 8 of the bottom 6 and is provided with flanges Iii which terminate in outwardly-extending flanges II, which are in engagement with and are spot-welded to the bottom 6. The insulation-confining member 9 is also preferably formed of a single sheet of aluminum. Confined between the members 6 and 9 is a heatand cold-insulating material M, such, for example, as ground cork.

The refrigerator'further includes an inner wall formed from a single sheet of steel, bent to provide a front section I2, a rear section I3, and side sections I4 and I5, the seam It at the junction between sections I2 and I t being closed as by means of welding to form a water-proof joint. The inner wall is also provided with inwardlyextending flanges I1 and IBat their lower edges, the ends of these flanges being mitered and welded to each other along the seams I9 to form waterproof joints. The flanges I1 and I8 are directly in contact with the bottom 6. The outer walls I, 2, .3 and 4 are provided at their upper edges with inwardly extending flanges 20, which extend into engagement with the sections I2, I3, M and I5 of the inner wall and aid in maintaining a desired spaced relationship between the inner and outer walls of the refrigerator. The space between the inner and outer walls is filled with a heatand cold-insulating material M, such, for example, as ground cork.

It will be noted .in Figs. 1 and 2 that the upper ends of the sections I2, I3, I4 and I5 of the inner wall extend somewhat above the flanges 20 of the outer wall, and that these upper ends are flanged to provide rounded upper edges 2|. The function of these features will be presently explained.

The inner wall is preferably made from a sheet of stainless steel, or steel which has been zinc or cadmium plated to render it rust-proof.

The flanges I1 and I8 of the inner wall form a rectangular opening 22 for the reception of an inner container which consists of a sheet of metal bent to provide a forward wall 23, a rear wall 24, and side walls 25and 26, the seam 21 at the junction between .these walls and the flanges I1 and I8 being closed as by means of soldering or weldingto provide a water-tight joint. The seam 28 at the junction between the walls 23 and 25 is also closed as by means of soldering or welding to provide a water-tight joint. The upper ends of the walls 23, 24, 25 and 26 also extend somewhat above the plane of the flanges 20 of the outer wall, these upper ends being flanged to provide rounded upper edges 29, which are at the same horizontal level as the edges 2|.

The walls 23, 24, 25 and 26 form a compartment c for the material or objects to be refrigerated or maintained in a refrigerated condition. For this purpose, the compartment c may, if desired, be provided with removable divider plates 30, which may be slipped into channel guides 3|, which are secured to the walls 23 and 24. This arrangement is desirable for the reception of bottles of carbonated beverages and the like.

The parts I2, I3, I4, I5, 23,24, 25 and 26 are removably secured to the bottom 6 by means of metal straps 32 and screws 33 which extend through the straps and into threaded engagement with the bottom 6. The straps 32 are provided with upstanding flanges 34 which are spot welded to the walls 23 and 24. This arrangement permits removal andreplacement of the inner walls, should they become excessively corroded. The walls 23, 24, 25 and 26 are preferably made from a sheet of stainless steel, or steel which has been zinc or cadmium plated.

The refrigerator further includes a cover or closure made of sheet aluminum, and formed to' provide a rectangular body 35 having depending flanges 36, which, in the closed position of the closure, overlap the outer surfaces of the upper ends of the walls I, 2, 3 and 4. The closure 85 is pivotally secured to the walls 2 by means of piano type hinges 37, and the front flanges are adapted to be fastened down by means of trunk type latches 38.

1 A handle 39 is secured to the body 35 centrally of the latter, and enables the refrigerator to be easily carried about; when the closure is locked or latched in closed position. 7

An important feature of the invention is the provision of a rectangular sheet 40 of rubber or rubber-like material, of appreciable thickness, which is substantially coextensive in area with the undersurface of the body 85 of the closure and is adhesively secured to said surface. This sheet forms a gasket, which, when the cover or closure is pushed downwardly in order to close or latch it, bears with considerable pressure on the edges 2| and 29 and forms an effective, airtight, seal along these edges. The pressure, as shown in Fig. 5, is suflicient to cause embedment of the edges 2| and 29 in the rubber. This sealing effect is made possible by reason of the fact that, the upper ends of the walls I2, I3, I4, I5, 23, 24, 25 and 26, extend somewhat above the plane of the flanges 20.

Another advantage of utilizing the aforesaid sealing effect, produced by the rubber gasket 40, is that it does not require that the flanges 35 of the cover 35 closely fit or engage the outer surfaces of the upper ends of the walls, I, 2, 3 and 4, in the closed position of the cover. These flanges may, as a matter of fact, be out of engagement with such surfaces, if desired, thus facilitating closing of the cover.

In the use of the refrigerator, the compartment is first filled with the bottles or other articles to be refrigerated, after which the space between the .walls I2, I3, I I and I and walls 23, 24, 25 and 26 is filled with ice, which may be in the form of ice cubes. By making the spaces .4 between these walls approximately equal in width to the thickness of an ice cube, a solid wall of ice may be formed about the compartment e, which greatly increases the efficiency of refrigeration. A spigot 4| may also be provided for draining melted ice from the ice cube compartment.

By using aluminum for all of the parts of the refrigerator, except those exposed to the ice, the weight of the refrigerator is reduced to a point which enables it to be easily carried about, with a minimum of physical fatigue.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, Without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A portable refrigerator of the character described comprising an outer container having spaced inner and outer walls with the inner wall extending above the outer wall, an inner container disposed within the outer container and spaced therefrom to provide a refrigerant receiving space therebetween. the walls of the inner container extending upwardly to the same height as the inner wall of the outer container, straps secured to the outer container and engaging the lower side walls of the inner container to hold the same in spaced relation with the outer container and a cover for said outer container, said cover being provided with a sheet rubber gasket coextensive with the under side of the cover which bears on the upper edges of the inner container and the inner wall of the outer container to seal the space therebetween.

2. A portable refrigerator of the character described comprising an outer container having spaced inner and outer walls and comprising bottom, side, and end walls, an inner container in said outer container spaced from the outer container to provide a refrigerating space therebetween, the inner wall of the outer container having inwardly directed flanges secured to walls of the inner container whereby said inner wall and said inner receptacle may be removed as a unit and vertically extending straps secured to the bottom of the outer container and engaging the side walls of the inner container to maintain the inner container spaced from the outer container.

PHILIP HERTZBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Wilson Jan. 4, 1938 

